Money Guy Show – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Don’t Fall For These Market Trends with Austin Hankwitz
Date: February 25, 2026
Hosts: Brian Preston & Bo Hanson
Guest: Austin Hankwitz (Finance content creator, entrepreneur, investor, Rich Habits Podcast)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Brian and Bo welcome finance influencer and podcaster Austin Hankwitz for a candid discussion about market trends, investment strategies, and the art of building wealth confidently. The trio tackles the temptation of shiny financial trends, the balance between active and passive investing, and the importance of radical transparency with money. The episode features a "News or Noise" segment, audience Q&A, and plenty of practical advice for investors of all experience levels—all delivered in the Money Guy’s signature approachable and fun style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Austin Hankwitz (00:06 - 04:09)

• Austin’s background:

  • 29 years old, University of Tennessee grad (Finance/Economics), moved to Nashville for M&A in healthcare.
  • Inspired by Dave Ramsey in high school (“I was 16 years old learning about this stuff. It’s insane.” – Austin, 01:52).
  • Started finance content creation during the pandemic, focusing on radical transparency: student loan payoff, credit, and investing.
  • Grew into consulting for fintech firms and co-hosting Rich Habits Podcast with Robert Croke (creator of Silly Bands).

• Show’s spirit:

  • Contrasting perspectives: Croke as the “elder statesman” entrepreneur (30 years older than Austin).
  • Focus: Anyone can take control with “rich habits”—no matter their age or experience.

2. Navigating Market Trends & Investment Approaches (04:10 – 10:26)

• Market Awareness:

  • “It’s important to have an active management perspective—not to time the market, but to go in eyes wide open.” (Austin, 04:18)
  • Diversification isn’t just about spreading risk, but understanding the volatility of new asset classes.

• Core vs. Satellite Investing:

  • “65–85% of your portfolio is boring index funds and ETFs... then 15–35% can go to things you find interesting.” (Austin, 05:23)
  • Riskier (‘vacation money’) investments (like crypto, precious metals, emerging markets) should only be funded by money you can truly afford to lose—not “grocery money.”

• Learning From Mistakes:

  • Austin admits to riding speculative assets (e.g., ARKK ETF) up and down during the Covid bubble:
    • “Everything does not just go vertical forever.” (Austin, 08:52)
  • Radical transparency helps others learn from real stumbles as well as successes.

3. Hobby Investing vs. Building a Solid Core (10:27 – 13:31)

• Human nature & excitement:
  • Brian: “I don’t want people to lose out on the excitement, because all human nature is the shiny objects... at the end of the day... it’s okay if you set it and forget it.” (09:54)
• Owning What You Love:
  • Austin: “I think it’s okay to be an owner of companies you’re a customer of... it’s a light bulb moment for a lot of people.” (10:57)
  • For most people, start with index funds; only after a solid foundation, consider hobby or moonshot stocks.

4. Avoiding Noisy Distractions & the Pendulum Analogy (13:32 – 15:43)

• Don’t Let the 5% Become 95%:

  • Many novice investors get emotionally caught up with a tiny “satellite” portion and let it outweigh their core decisions.
  • “Money is emotional. Money is a very emotional thing.” (Austin, 14:33)

• Pendulum/Mental Framework:

  • The market’s news cycle is “always way overexcited or it’s doom and despair—it’s never in the middle.” (Austin, 14:33)
  • Focus on long-term averages (S&P ~8.5% annualized) and tune out daily extremes.

5. “News or Noise” Game – Dissecting Financial Headlines (15:44 – 25:20)

A fun round-table segment challenging hosts and guest to separate actionable news from distracting noise.

Key Headlines & Analysis

• “OpenAI unsatisfied with Nvidia chips”:

  • Noise (all) – “It doesn’t really matter whose chips are used as long as [OpenAI has] good customers and good products.” (Austin, 17:39)

• “This tech stock just crashed to 52-week low. Should you buy the dip?”:

  • Noise (all) – “That’s more of a headline to get my eyeballs than for action.” (Brian, 18:30)

• “S&P 500 near all-time high after strong January data?”:

  • Mixed: Austin says news; Brian & Bo say noise.
  • Austin: “I want to know the January manufacturing data. This sounds good, I’d actually read the story.” (19:41)
  • Bo: “If you think the stock market is high today, wait till you see it 10 years from now.” (20:17)
  • Brian: “There’s nothing actionable I can do from all-time highs.” (20:35)

• “Amazon’s latest layoffs add fuel to the white collar recession”:

  • News (all).
  • “This is something more people should be paying attention to.” (Austin, 21:46)
  • “A good wake-up call to internalize: Do I have emergency reserves?” (Brian, 22:27)

• “Erratic behavior of bitcoin, silver & meme stocks threatens the bull market”:

  • Split: Bo sees as news (cautionary for new investors), others as noise unless it signals market cycle change.

6. Live Q&A Highlights (27:08 – 55:51)

“Is it okay to spend 40% of my income on rent?” (Jake, 27:08)

• Hosts/Guest: Too much. Aim for 20-25% with a roommate; prioritize stacking investments (Roth, emergency fund) over lifestyle.
  • “You’re 24, no one cares where you live. The faster you can get over that ego... you’ll set yourself up.” (Austin, 30:29)
  • “Go watch Road House with Patrick Swayze—he lived in a barn; still the coolest cat in town.” (Brian, 29:37)

“Is my mortgage high-interest debt?” (Kelvin Q, 31:46)

• Consensus:
  • Mortgage is usually not “high interest” compared to credit cards/personal loans, especially since it finances an appreciating asset.
  • “There’s no perfect rule... My framework is: Where’s the Fed Funds rate? Add 4%, call it 7.5–8%. If it’s above that, pay it off.” (Austin, 34:25)

“Should I take a $25k loan at 2.99% just to invest it?” (Brandon, 38:07)

• Strong disagreement: Don’t do it—build wealth through discipline, not leverage.
  • “Discipline builds wealth—not taking shortcuts.” (Austin, 40:17)
  • “There’s more benefit to getting your savings rate to 20–25% as fast as possible.” (Brian, 38:14)

“When should I hire a financial advisor, and how do I find a good one?”

• “Come to us when your life gets complicated... once you have $500–$600k of investable assets and some complexity.” (Bo, 58:00)
• Use Money Guy’s 8 Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor.

7. Rapid Fire & Practical Takeaways (43:04 – 55:55)

Lightning answers—with a rule: can’t say “it depends”!

• Why not use Roth as an emergency fund?

  • “Because it’s for retirement.” (Bo, 44:31)
  • “You already have an emergency fund for this.” (Austin, 44:39)

• Combining accounts for couples—any optimization?

  • “Compound interest works the same. Focus on the right account structure using the financial order of operations.” (Bo & Brian, 49:45–50:27)

• Favorite finance books (other than Millionaire Mission):

  • Austin: 100 Baggers by Chris Mayer, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle, Millionaire Next Door
  • Brian: Wealthy Barber, The Millionaire Next Door
  • Bo: How to Win Friends and Influence People (“It absolutely will impact your financial life.” – Bo, 55:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Radical Transparency:
  “It wasn’t like, hey, I’m some expert. It was ‘here's my student loans, here's my Roth IRA—come along for the journey.’” – Austin (02:42)
• Risk Buckets:
  “If you got 95% of your net worth here and 5% goes to zero—congrats, you still have 95% of your net worth.” – Austin (06:23)
• Set It, Forget It:
  “It is encouraged to set it and forget it. It’s not just okay—that’s what you should be doing.” – Austin (10:26)
• Pendulum Analogy:
  “The market is always way overexcited or doom and despair—it’s never in the middle. Money is emotional.” – Austin (14:33)
• On leveraging to invest:
  “Wealth is not built at this early stage on debt. It's built on discipline.” – Austin (40:38)
• On hiring advisors:
  “Come to us when your life gets complicated... once you have $500–$600k of investable assets and some complexity.” – Bo (58:00)
• Closing encouragement:
  “No one cares where you live at 24. The faster you can get over that ego... the better you'll set yourself up.” – Austin (30:29)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment / Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:06 | Austin’s intro and background | | 04:09 | Core-satellite investing explained | | 08:52 | Lessons from the Covid market bubble | | 13:31 | Market emotions; managing distractions | | 15:44 | “News or Noise” financial headline segment | | 27:08 | Q&A: Rental costs vs. investing | | 31:46 | Q&A: Mortgage as high-interest debt? | | 38:07 | Q&A: Should you borrow to invest? | | 43:04 | Rapid fire: Financial planning scenarios | | 49:45 | Rapid fire: Spouse account optimization | | 54:48 | Top recommended finance books | | 58:00 | “It depends”—when to hire an advisor; how to find a good one |

Tone & Style

• Friendly, welcoming, and educational with humor and practical wisdom.
• Austin’s “radical transparency” and relatability were a recurring theme.
• The hosts mix storytelling, personal anecdotes, and actionable frameworks in an approachable way.

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a clear-eyed, practical perspective on how to stay grounded when market trends get noisy and distracting. With Austin’s transparency and Bo and Brian’s wealth of advisor experience, listeners will walk away better equipped to harness the power of simple, time-tested strategies—avoiding fads, setting strong habits, and knowing when (and how) to engage with a professional as their finances grow.

Find Austin at:

• Rich Habits Podcast (Spotify, YouTube, Apple)
• Gritcap IO (newsletter: Rate of Return)
• Social: @AustinHankwitz

Money Guy Resources & Calculator: moneyguy.com/resources

For listeners: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by market noise, remember—build your core, be transparent, ignore the distractions, and let your “boring” assets do the heavy lifting!